Runners in Lake George footrace grieve Boston Marathon victims

Competing in the Lake George Half-Marathon footrace held Sunday April 21, Caroline Moore of Wappinger Falls is joined by her daughter Erin as she approaches the finish line behind Fort William Henry. Moore and many others in the race ran to honor the Boston Marathon victims.
Photo by Thom Randall.

LAKE GEORGE  Julie Alarcon dashed across the finish line of the Lake George Half Marathon, looking at the readout of 02:08:07 on the time clock for the 13-mile footrace which wound through the Lake George area Sunday April 21 and ended at Fort William Henry.

Alarcon, 60, of Windsor Vt. just recorded her personal-best time — but the race meant far more to her and others, she reflected as she paused and stretched her leg muscles.

“I was channelling Boston,” she said, referring to how as she ran the course, she was focusing on honoring the Boston Marathon runners and family members injured in the bombing attack April 15 that killed three and left dozens critically wounded.

Photo by Thom Randall

Julie Alarcon, 50 of Windsor Vt. finished the Lake George Marathon in her best time ever. She credited her speed and endurance to focusing during the race on paying tribute to the runners and the family members who were killed or injured during the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing. Incidentally, Alarcon has lost 70 pounds since she started running several years ago.

The horrific act of terrorism had nearly ripped her life apart.

Her stepdaughter Maranda Cameron, had competed April 15 in the Boston Marathon, running over the finish line when the bombs exploded.

“I was terrified for Maranda, all the other runners and their family members,” Alarcon said, noting she was on the phone with her stepdaughter moments after the second blast.

“I was appalled that anyone would ever try to kill or wound people who work so hard for personal accomplishment,” she said.

A large group of runners from New York’s Capital Region, all dressed in purple, also had a mission in their run Sunday in the Lake George race — a dual purpose, their organizers said.

Members of “Team Gabby Gabs,” they were running to raise awareness about the Gabby Rocco Foundation, an organization that provides emotional support and financial aid to families who are grieving a child.

Photo by Thom Randall

Jean and Peter Rocco led a group of several dozen runners participating in the Lake George Half-Marathon as "Team Gabby Gabs" in memory of not only the Boston Marathon victims, but on behalf of the couple's charitable organization, the Gabby Rocco Foundation, which offers emotional support and financial aid to parents grieving the loss of a child. The Roccos' daughter Gabrielle died in 2008 at age 2 of a congenital illness.

Each of the runners had a photo attached to their sleeve to remember a departed loved one. They also wore patches honoring the Boston Marathon victims as well.

The founders of the Gabby Rocco Foundation, Jean and Peter Rocco of Halfmoon, were among those in the footrace that included more than 300 finishers and hundreds more witnessing the event. In 2008, they lost their beloved daughter Gabrielle, 2, to a rare congenital disease